The devices, purchased through the national restaurant chain's Public Safety Foundation, were unveiled during a ceremony at Ghorbani's newly-expanded west-side restaurant at the Dorman Centre.

Four of them will go to Reidville Fire Department and the other seven to SCSO. Ghorbani said the AEDs ensure that both departments will be prepared to provide assistance in the case of cardiac arrest.

“We're very pleased to be able to do this,” said Ghorbani, who owns four Firehouse Subs restaurants in Spartanburg County and one in Greenville County near Taylors. “We are truly serving subs and saving lives… You hope this equipment never has to be used, but you always want (first responders) to be prepared.”

Last February, Ghorbani donated more than $25,000 in equipment to fire houses in Una, Woodruff and Hickory Tavern.

He gave the North Spartanburg Fire Department a $10,000 grant for the purchase of a specially equipped Polaris Ranger ATV in November 2011.

Two months earlier, the franchisee donated more than $8,000 worth of lifesaving equipment to the Croft Fire Department, including four gas monitors and two automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

He donated $13,500 to the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office in 2009 for the purchase of state-of-the-art diving equipment, including five new Guardian Full Face Masks made by Ocean Technology Systems and five Pinnacle Evolution 2 Drysuits.

A year earlier, Ghorbani gave $14,500 to the Boiling Springs Fire Department for the purchase of an all-terrain vehicle.

“This partnership with Firehouse Subs has been a huge resource for local first responders during a time of budget constraints,” said Capt. Tim Metz, with the Sheriff's Office. “These will be the first of these devices we will have… It is a huge benefit for us.”

During the ceremony, Ghorbani was given a special award for his service from the Reidville Fire Department named after its former chief Kenneth DeYoung.

Doug Bryson, coordinator of the Spartanburg County Office of Emergency Management, said the new AEDs will help save lives in rural parts of the county, where medical assistance was previously several minutes away.

“This is a tremendous relationship we've been able to have with Firehouse Subs,” Bryson said. “It's a very admirable effort and it goes to show how dedicated they are to our first responders and our community as a whole.

In 2005, Firehouse Subs created its Public Safety Foundation with the mission of providing funding, life-saving equipment, and educational opportunities to first-responders. Through the non-profit 501the company has given $5.7 million to hometown heroes in 36 states and Puerto Rico, including more than $612,800 in South Carolina.

Each restaurant recycles leftover, five-gallon pickle buckets and sells them to guests for $2. Donation canisters on register counters explain the foundation's mission and collect spare change, while the Round Up Program allows guests to “round up” their bill to the nearest dollar. All funds raised benefit the foundation.

Firehouse Subs is currently running a program where it donates $1 to the foundation for every photo of a pickle bucket posted to Instagram, the Firehouse Subs Facebook page, Twitter, or Pinterest with #BucketsSaveLives. The program runs until February 10.

For more information, visit: www.firehousesubs.com

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